What a grim story to read the day after Memorial Day: The problem of stolen opioid and other drugs remains a serious and growing one at our nation’s hospitals and clinics for military veterans.

Coloradans well know that such thefts, also called drug diversions, can lead to frightening situations in which patients face infections from those stealing the drugs. Drug diversions have troubled Colorado private hospitals in recent years. In addition to infection risks, patients recovering from surgery and otherwise dealing with extreme pain are left to suffer as a result of a thief’s search for a fix.

Veterans hospitals are seeing the problem in much greater numbers. The Associated Press has found that the rate of stolen drugs from Veterans Affairs hospitals is twice what occurs in private facilities. Federal officials say the VA’s large stockpiles of drugs and high volume of patients at its facilities contribute to the problem. As Jeffrey Hughes, the acting VA assistant inspector general for investigations, told The AP, “Veterans may be denied necessary medications or their proper dosage and medical records may contain false information to hide the diversion, further putting veterans’ health at risk.”

The AP reported in February about the growing problem. Drug losses or thefts increased from 237 in 2009 to 2,844 in 2015. In only 3 percent of cases were VA staff disciplined. The VA responded with a “zero tolerance” policy that hasn’t yet proved successful.

The VA inspector general’s office says that it had opened 25 investigations since the start of the federal budget year, or Oct. 1. That’s a rise from 21 the year before.

A big problem for the VA has been tracking the dangerous drugs. Michael Glavin, an IT specialist with the VA, told journalists of several employee complaints about flawed tracking systems for the drugs and drug inventories that wreak havoc for those trying to hold the system accountable. The problems translate into months of delays in determining when drugs are stolen or otherwise go missing. What’s more, prescription drugs aren’t always inventories when they arrive at a VA facility.

VA officials say they check inventory every three days and keep the drugs secure. They argue that some of the missing drugs are just that — lost in shipment and not the result of anything nefarious.

Officials also say they have stepped up inspections and employee drug tests.

We’ve been frequent critics of the VA’s problems in Aurora for blowing past its budget to build a new hospital by more than a billion dollars and extending its opening date for years.

Plenty have called for more accountability from the top down, and against that backdrop we’ve seen the VA struggle with efforts to attract and keep talented medical professionals.

President Donald Trump has inherited a mess with the VA, and we hope his administration is able to do some good and right this ship. Our nation’s warriors must be able to rely on the promised medical care the VA is charged with providing.

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